Spaceflight, NanoRacks Partnership Launches Planet Labs Satellites

Two of the 28 Planet Labs Dove satellites that make up the Flock 1 constellation are seen launching into orbit from the International Space Station on Feb. 11. (Credit: NASA)

SEATTLE (Spaceflight Inc. PR) – Spaceflight Inc. and NanoRacks announced today that an additional 28 Planet Labs Dove CubeSats are en route to the International Space Station on the Orbital Sciences Cygnus Orb-2 Mission. The satellites were manifest via the NanoRacks Space Act Agreement with NASA, and are scheduled for deployment using the self-funded NanoRacks’ CubeSat Deployers manufactured by Quad-M Inc.

Spaceflight leveraged its extensive network of launch-service providers worldwide to offer its customers the NanoRacks space-station mission opportunity. The two companies have a joint teaming agreement to find the optimal launch and orbit for payload provider customers. Spaceflight and NanoRacks previously launched Planet Labs’ Flock 1 on Orbital Science’s Orb-1 mission in early January 2014.

“CubeSats continue to push the bounds of small satellite technology and we are excited to help enable new space companies like Planet Labs to succeed,” said Spaceflight President Curt Blake.

Jeffrey Manber, CEO of NanoRacks, added, “The International Space Station continues to be a launch pad for American companies to compete in the commercial Earth Observation industry and we are pleased, along with our colleagues at NASA and JAXA, to play a role in stimulating this market.”

For more information regarding the Spaceflight and NanoRacks partnership and small-satellite launch and deployment opportunities, please visit www.spaceflightservices.com and www.nanoracks.com.

About Spaceflight Inc.

Spaceflight Inc., “The Space Logistics Company,” provides frequent, cost-effective and routine access to space for deployed and hosted payloads. Spaceflight specializes in the launch of CubeSats, NanoSats and MicroSats. Through its global network of launch vehicle providers, Spaceflight can deploy payloads to low Earth orbit, the moon and beyond. Visit us on the web at www.spaceflightservices.com and follow @spaceflightinc on Twitter. About NanoRacks

NanoRacks LLC was formed in 2009 to provide commercial hardware and services for the U.S. National Laboratory onboard the International Space Station via a Space Act Agreement with NASA. The Company is unique in owning and marketing its own family of research equipment, both inside and external to the Space Station, and in providing low-cost, high quality services to Station customers. To date, NanoRacks has deployed over 200 payloads on Space Station. The Company’s current signed customer pipeline of over 150 payloads, including those from DLR, NASA, US Government Agencies, Planet Labs, Space Florida, NCESSE, pharmaceutical drug companies, and organizations in Vietnam, UK, Romania and Israel, has propelled NanoRacks into a leadership position in understanding the emerging commercial market for low-earth orbit utilization. For more information visit nanoracks.com and follow @nanoracks on Twitter.